Ramananda Ray and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were talking Krishna-katha, and I am
thinking also: who can understand Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, who can
understand Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur? If you take the leaves of
a sugar cane, what kind of taste will you get? But if you take the stem, as
you condense it more and more you can taste juice, sugar, khanda
(খণ্ড, candy)—everything will come slowly, slowly.

We just come and stay in Srila Sridhar Maharaj's temple, Gurudev's temple and
do not know any conception, but what did Srila Sridhar Maharaj make the
temple for? You should know the conception. We float on the surface,
following the desires that enter our mind—we do not go deep; but we
must understand what Srila Sridhar Maharaj made this temple for. It is
necessary. It is the main things.

We do not want to be workers, we have not come here to be
carpenters—Prabhupad Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that.
We can do what is necessary for maintenance, but not more than that. When I
started the charitable dispensary here, I spent so much time there. I went
there every afternoon and was managing the doctors, the patients, and so on,
but Gurudev said to me, "You did not come here to be a hospital manager." And
I stopped—the next day I gave charge to somebody else. Gurudev said,
"It is not your job, you can give it somebody else." Money will come,
everything will come, everything will be. You can see in one of his poems
Srila Gurudev writes, "If Indra comes to give me heaven, to give me his post,
I will not accept that; I will not agree if even Brahma offers me to take his
place. No, I will not accept that."

You must understand our conception. We do not want to be very big or
gorgeous, we do not want be imitators, we want to have the real thing.
That is why you must understand our conception. You must read Srila Sridhar
Maharaj's books, Gurudev's books, then you will get some idea. I have told it
many times: read when you get time. Read the books, try to understand the
conception.

If you think you know everything, you will never know anything. If you think
you know everything, that is a big problem: that is ego, and the ego eats
everything, takes everything away—ultimately, it takes you to hell. Ego
is the only problem. Somebody is so proud they have been a disciple for so
many years, but they cannot understand anything. That is why we must be
careful: "pride comes before a fall."

You must sacrifice for others—that is our life. Devotional life means
sacrifice; and sacrifice does not mean you must be renounced. Renunciation is
not necessary—only surrender.